Cozumel, Mexico, has lengthy been thought of one of many world’s hottest cruise ports and a favourite vacation spot for cruise passengers from around the globe.
In January 2023, Cozumel lived as much as its repute, welcoming over 400,000 cruise passengers and 106 cruise ships to its shores.
These spectacular figures characterize a big improve of 185% over the identical interval in 2022, signaling the restoration from the pandemic each for the cruise port and the cruise trade.
For the cruise trade, these numbers are a trigger for celebration. After the pandemic hit in 2020, it skilled a big downturn. Nonetheless, not everyone seems to be proud of the return of mass cruise ship tourism to Cozumel.
Cozumel’s Cruise Tourism Totally Recovered
The Covid-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented disruption to the cruise trade, resulting in a pointy decline in passenger numbers, important monetary losses, and a halt in cruise operations worldwide.
Nonetheless, Cozumel has managed to bounce again remarkably effectively prior to now 18 months, and the variety of passengers it has welcomed in January 2023 is proof of this.
Whereas the variety of passengers remains to be under those registered in 2019 and 2020, the figures are nonetheless thought of spectacular. They present a big restoration from the pandemic for the cruise port and the cruise trade.
In January 2019, Cozumel welcomed 485,136 passengers, and in 2020, the port welcomed 476,633 cruise friends through the first month of the yr.
Within the first month of this yr, 106 cruise ships visited Cozumel, bringing 408,633 friends to the island to benefit from the gorgeous seashores and resorts comparable to Mr. Sancho’s Seaside Membership.
It is a nice signal that tourism in Cozumel as a cruise vacation spot, and the cruise trade as an entire, have now totally recovered.
The truth that the numbers are so near pre-pandemic ranges seen in 2019 and 2020 is a trigger for celebration. It signifies that tourism is again to the degrees that it loved earlier than the pandemic hit.
Cozumel is the World’s Busiest Cruise Port of Name
Cozumel has established itself because the world’s busiest cruise port of name, with extra cruise ships and cruise passengers arriving on the island than another cruise vacation spot worldwide.
The one ports that exceed the numbers seen in Cozumel are the homeports in Florida, PortMiami, Port Canaveral, and Port Everglades. This yr, Cozumel expects to welcome 1,152 cruise ships with 3,127,250 passengers, a 25.75% improve over 2022. This spectacular determine is a testomony to the recognition of Cozumel as a vacation spot for cruise passengers.
Nonetheless, it appears unlikely that Cozumel will beat pre-pandemic numbers within the coming years.
Regardless of the unbelievable improve in cruise tourism in Cozumel, the development of a fourth pier stays in limbo as a consequence of ongoing protests from environmental teams and native residents. With out this, the expansion of cruise tourism in Cozumel is unlikely to proceed.
Cozumel has three present cruise piers. Including a fourth pier would permit the port to deal with considerably extra ships and improve its capability to welcome extra cruise passengers. Nonetheless, environmentalists are involved that the fourth pier’s development will hurt the surroundings, together with the destruction of corals and an vital coral rejuvenation mission in Cozumel.
Cozumel’s dependence on the cruise trade has been evident, and the pandemic has hit the island and native companies onerous. But, protests and pending courtroom circumstances reveal rising concern amongst environmental teams and locals in regards to the impression of the cruise trade on the surroundings and the area people.
Whereas the financial contribution that the cruise trade brings to Cozumel has positively impacted the native inhabitants, plainly worth, amount, and high quality don’t at all times go hand-in-hand.
